Hi Carlanow that most of the riveting issues that have been bouncing among the Communications and Operations committees and the Board of Directors are beginning to bear fruit, perhaps we can get together for a half hour or so at your convenience to discuss the parameters of building & hosting a web site for your business.

I talked briefly to Julie Rosenthal this afternoon, and she said that you are really busy, and are very much interested in creating a site, but may be a little overwhelmed by the prospects of pulling it all together.

I have been developing web sites since 1996, and would love to discuss the range of options Graphic Solutions Ink Systems can offer in helping you assess your goals, map out a plan, and bringing it all together in an attractive, informative, easy to navigate web package. It's easier than you might think, but you are right, it is important to organize from the ground up.

So let's do it! And thanks for your earlier comments. I look forward to hearing from you again,

Gabriel

Hi Gabriel, I am really busy but would like to pursue this. Julie's right, I don't have much time to spend on this but could give you a few links to competitors sites and to my company's site so you can get an idea of what other info people have included. I am an email link already for several agents in the area and would prefer this to be a link to a website. I'll try to figure out a good time to meet one day later in the week. Thanks for following up.

Carla

Date: Fri Mar 8, 2002 4:03:50 PM America/New_York

Cheers CarlaI'm thinking of you. And I'm thinking, might you please, please, please take five minutes to send me that handful of links so that I can start pondering your situation...Julie says you are still interested in seeing what I can do for you, and I'm still interested in doing just that, so whaddya say, LINK ME...I don't need a lot of hand holding to get started, but I do need just a few details to work out a budget and a design you will LOVE, maybe some ideas for your domain name, and down the line some specific text, that sort of thing. BUT I PROMISE I WILL MAKE IT EASY FOR YOU.

So let me know. Operators are standing by...

Your friendly neighborhood web designer,

Gabriel Thy

Date: Fri, 15 Mar 2002 23:09:57

Hi Gabriel, thanks for your email. Just a note...my business is a different type of business than most mortgage sites gear towards. I do no advertising. My clients are referrals >from agents and former clients and I operate from a different point of reference than other loan officers in my company and most other companies. I'm not looking for a website to attract new business. I would want it used as a tool for my clients. I'd like to have information about the area for new arrivals (links to museums, restaurants, theatre, etc.) and a resource for program explanations, online calculators and maybe an online application. I'm a pretty simple person so although I like sleek and cool as much as the next, I don't want to appear too sleek or cool to my more conservative clients.

Also, I've found that many of my clients do not want to use the online form of contact. They are more interested in having personal contact (phone vs. email) and the type of relationship that is built with one on one conversation...

Let's plan on getting together toward the end of next week. I'd like you to make a very rough proposal and we can go over it and talk about what you have in mind. One more note...although I've spoken with three "web designers" ... one was the brother of a very good friend, one was my dance partner and one was the close friend of one of my agents. They all seemed the far side of reasonable since they have other jobs and this is a sideline for them. So, I don't think I have a very "real" idea of what this all costs which is why I'd like you to make a proposal. Thanks so much for your time.

Carla

Tuesday, March 12, 2002 7:09 AM

No need to send any more links, Carla. I've checked out the sites you sent me, and several others listed below, including the one from a fellow senior officer at Community. Given the feature sets on the sites you've sent me, I am positive that we can implement a site with the same leading edge design and functionality of the more aggressive sites you've seen, and we can accomplish this at more bang for your buck than ANY of my competitors would dare offer, given my own lower overhead and current lull in new business clientele. You've mentioned you've already chatted with other designers. That's great! So you should have an inkling what they would charge you for what you are aiming to accomplish.

What I need to know from you is how much you want to spend. Great designs packing all the latest bells and whistles come with price tags, but of course, almost any option package can be scaled upward or downward to suit the client's budgetary concerns.

Postscript: That proposed face to face meeting never took place. The agony of defeat, unable to close the deal after thousands of prep lines of code, promotional savvy, coins of the realm for the poor, staggered with zero marketshare, wrapped, rippled, and on a warming Mid-summer's Atlantic spring day like this one, runny with certain scarlet sensations, once again strikes the stymied but munificent Fatz Bullwinkle against the slack jaw with the ferocious wink of eternal damnation...

This said, I can guarantee my final prices will tally 30-50% lower than anything you have already been quoted, as several past clients can attest. Hence, more bells and whistles for your design, hosting, and maintenance dollar. Choosing an exciting and informative domain name is an important decision YOU must make. Below I have listed the results of an hour-long online search. But since I have no idea where you would like to go in terms of branding, these queries were merely off the top of my head. Perhaps you already have a few ideas of your own.

So Carla, let's be frank, I'm not much of a salesperson, but am an eager and communicative designer. I'm not going to press or hard sell you today or any other day, but I might just impress you with my dedication and attention to the details of the job at hand. Again, I await your perfect timing.

Let me know how I can make this easy on you, given your hectic schedule. At some point before negotiating and signing a contract, we'll need to agree on a budget, the specific web content and features, a domain name, and a hosting package. Beginning the work is the fun part for me. So you just give the word.

Thanks,

Gabriel

Postscript: That proposed face to face meeting never took place. The agony of defeat, unable to close the deal after thousands of prep lines of code, promotional savvy, coins of the realm for the poor, staggered with zero marketshare, wrapped, rippled, and on a warming Mid-summer's Atlantic spring day like this one, runny with certain scarlet sensations, once again strikes the stymied but munificent Fatz Bullwinkle against the slack jaw with the ferocious wink of eternal damnation...

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